'We care': A community comes together to save lives on the beaches

An ugly makeshift industrial fence blocking a path to a headland on Sydney's northern beaches has already saved a life since it was installed a few months ago.

It gave emergency services a few extra minutes to intervene to prevent a young man from taking his own life, police say. The fence includes a Lifeline notice - urging those in crisis to call its hotline 13 11 14 - next to impromptu shrines, a skateboard and photos.

Paris Jeffcoat and Sam Callender from One Eighty Avalon have started a local mental health group run by young people for young people. They want to make it OK for people to talk openly about their mental health. Credit: Dom Lorrimer

At North Head, an inexpensive pipe that blocks access to the coastline after dark has prevented "dozens of people from taking their own lives", says Northern Beaches Local Area Commander Superintendent Dave Darcy.

Paths have been filled with "unpleasant prickly bush" that reduce access. These practical initiatives delay a "moment of despair" long enough to turn it into what Superintendent Darcy calls a "moment of ambivalence". For every death by suicide, police estimate about four attempts are thwarted.

Superintendent Darcy said last year 30 people - from teens to people in their 90s - killed themselves in the area from Manly to Pittwater, including Davidson, Duffys Forest and Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

Superintendent Darcy and Lifeline Northern Beaches' chief executive David Thomas know fences and barriers are only part of the solution.

"You can't rely on one thing, you have 20km to 30km of cliff top from Manly to Palm Beach," Mr Thomas said. "You can't fence off the entire coastline. But the fence stops them, and gives us and police time to get there ... and talk to them, and let them know there is hope."

Across Australia, suicides increased 9 per cent to 3128 people in 2017, according to the most recent data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last year. That's about three times the national road toll.

Suicide accounted for more than a third of all deaths of young people aged 15-24 years of age, and over a quarter of deaths among those aged 25-34 years. It was the second leading cause of death among those 45-54 years of age. Men account for three out of every four suicides, and experts said they were the hardest of all to reach.

In keeping with the national trend, the bulk of people who took their own lives on the Northern Beaches have been middle-aged men.

But the deaths last year of several young people in quick succession - with funerals that sometimes attracted hundreds of young mourners - hit the community. Misinformation spread on social media, mostly on channels out of sight of experts and parents.

Mr Thomas said the rate of youth suicides in the area was shocking, and had been an ongoing problem since 2017.

But whether the Northern Beaches' rate of self harm is higher or the same as other parts of Sydney depends on who you ask and how the figures are counted.

Some attribute the rate of suicide there to drugs and alcohol, and the pressure to be successful at sport or as affluent as many of those who live in glittering beachside homes.

Mr Thomas also included the pressure to have the "bestest beach body on social media".

"We've got a beautiful area, but we have a lot of young people who are struggling with elements of life; affordability, education, social media, adolescence, parents, divorce rates," said Justene Gordon, the chief executive of the Burdekin Association and the Avalon Youth Hub.

"One of the things we are looking at is the spread of information via social media. Back in our day, an incident occurred and we didn't know about it. Now we have a flood of information, images, and we have spread sad incidences where everybody knows everyone."

For others, the insularity of the community is an issue. Paris Jeffcoat, the co-founder of a new non-profit mental health group run by youth for youth, One Eighty Avalon, Inc, said the area was one of the least diverse parts of Sydney. That made it tough for those who didn't fit in.

"If you are not a white surfer boy, straight, cis [someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth], there's no one else here who is visible outside of that," Ms Jeffcoat said.

Whatever the cause, everyone agrees one suicide is too many.

"The issue isn't escalating. Our response is," said Gary Jacobson, the chief executive of Community Care Northern Beaches who is part of a new Northern Beaches Suicide Prevention Working Group formed last year in response to the deaths.

"You have all these people who recognise there is a problem, and they are coming together as a cohesive organisation to deal with the problem, so people know there is help out there and where it is."

The new group - called a "coalition of care" - has brought together community groups, mental health experts and the council to increase prevention, and provide more support for families, young people or anyone in "desperate emotional trouble".

Local angels trained in mental first aid

Local "angels" - residents who live near high-risk spots - have been trained in mental health first aid. Forty police officers have also been given additional training as mental health first responders.

Mr Thomas said the community needed to talk more about the issue. "This problem will only be solved if you start talking about it. If you leave it up to government, if you leave it up to Lifeline, if you leave it up to the fairies at the bottom of the garden, if you leave it up to mum, it is not going to happen. It has to be embraced, accepted as a problem, and taken on," he said.

Even a year ago, there was a stigma about talking about suicide, Superintendent Darcy said. "It was almost a taboo topic, and that didn't help. Now we have a determination and a will to progress: that's why we have collectively come out and talked about it," he said.

"This is a terribly sad space but it is inspiring to see how we are pulling together selflessly. Compared to the death and destruction of this, it shows there is hope."

Northern Beaches Council's mayor Michael Regan said the group would provide preventive measures, ranging from physical building works on headlands to support for mental health groups targeting those at risk. It was also creating a framework for an immediate and coordinated response that would lead to, for example, counsellors visiting a school or a community within hours of a death.

At the far end of the peninsula, Ms Jeffcoat's One Eighty wants to make talking about mental health as routine as grabbing a cup of coffee or going for a surf.

Two years ago Ms Jeffcoat, now 24 and the recipient of the area's Young Citizen of the Year on Australia Day, was shocked when one of her best friends took his own life. It was the second suicide among her old high school friends in short succession.

"It spurred me and my friends to look at what was being done about mental health in the area ... It is not something I'd ever thought about, or thought would affect me."

At first Ms Jeffcoat raised money in the hope of supporting local prevention groups, but she couldn't find anything for young adults. The closest Headspace group was an hour by bus away.

As a result, Ms Jeffcoat and a friend, Leanne Westlake, co-founded One Eighty. It now operates "Open Up" sessions in Manly and Avalon for young people in their 20s to discuss expectations, family, social media, identity, work pressures, school and mental health issues, and funds other programs.

A director of One Eighty, Sam Callender, 24, said young adulthood was often a challenging time because "you are trying to work out who you are and what you want to do". She hopes the new suicide prevention working group will work: "We need its plan to be implemented so it is not all talk."

David Thomas CEO of Lifeline Northern Beaches, Justene Gordon CEO of The Burdekin Association and Avalon Youth Hub, Gary Jacobson CEO of Community Care Northern Beaches, Michael Regan mayor of Northern Beaches Council and Inspector Danielle Emerton of Northern Beaches Police Area Command at the Northern Beaches Civic Centre in Dee Why.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

A continuing challenge for everyone is how to reach men. Two-thirds of callers to Lifeline are women, yet men account for more suicides.

As a result, the working group is trialling a range of pilot programs that don't rely on people seeking help but take the help to them.

For example, it is testing beacon technology that uses GPS tracking via mobile phones to track when someone at risk enters a known danger spot. It could help parents track a child, for example. Someone who has thought of self-harm could choose to use it, too.

Lifeline on the Northern Beaches is also piloting a text help line, designed to reach men - who are reluctant to call - and young people who like to text. It is also giving help to men in need via events including the Lifeline annual surf life saving classic on April 28, which last year raised more than $50,000.

Lifeline: (13 11 14 and lifeline.org.au), the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467 and suicidecallbackservice.org.au) and beyondblue (1300 22 4636 and beyondblue.org.au).